G.R. No. 113799 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. BIENVENIDO BAYDO Y ARCAMO, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, this Court renders judgment finding the accused BIENVENIDO BAYDO guilty beyond reasonable doubt and hereby sentenced (sic) him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, together with the accessory penalties provided in Art. 40; to indemnify the widow, Evelyn Punongbayan, for the death of her husband (Leonardo Punongbayan) in the amount of P50,000.00; to pay P70,000.00 for moral damages; and to pay the cost. Hence, this appeal. The Facts The trial court discussed the contending versions of the prosecution and the appellant as follows: [8] This is the evidence for the prosecution - ROSITO PUNONGBAYAN testified that at about 4:30 in the afternoon of June 14, 1992, he was inside their yard at 1712 Diamante St., San Andres Bukid, Manila, when he heard a shot; he saw his uncle Leonardo Punongbayan talking with somebody at the corner of the street; as he was going out of their house, he heard another shot and that shot hit his uncles chest; Goerge (sic) Navarro alias Boy Hapon, and Bienvenido Baydo shot (sic) his uncle with a .38 caliber; his uncle sustained three gunshot wounds on the chest and one on the left thigh and Bienvenido Baydo finished his uncle with the second and third shots directed on (sic) the chest; he was then 6 meters away from accused Bienvenido Baydo; after his uncle slumped on the ground, they (referring to his 3 cousins who were just within the vicinity, and 3 brothers who came out of their house when they heard the shots) approached their uncle and they pursued the two assailants who ran towards Concia St.; they failed to catch the assailants and they brought their uncle to the hospital; he gave a statement to the WPD on or about July 16, 1992; on August 15, 1992, they were summoned by the police officer and he pointed to Bienvenido Baydo and Goerge (sic) Navarro at the Headquarters; thereafter, his second statement was taken. EVELYN PUNONGBAYAN testified that accused Bienvenido Baydo is a close friend and the godfather of their father-in-law; he saw Goerge (sic) Navarro and Bienvenido shot (sic) her husband with a .38 caliber gun because she was only at the opposite side of the road; her husband was then seated at a bench outside their house with a companion named Romy Mallar at the corner of Onyx and Diamante Streets; the two were talking to each other when they (she and Aling Maria) heard a gun shot; she saw her husband kneeling and pleading for his life but the assailants shot him at the stomach and near the heart/chest; Bienvenido Baydo told Goerge (sic) Navarro to finish the victim; subsequently her husband slumped on the pavement; George Navarro shot her husband first on the thigh while Bienvenido Baydo had a grudge against the (sic) Punongbayan because the former was stabbed by Edgar Punongbayan who lives (sic) with the victim; she knew Baydo very well because they used to borrow money from him, her husband was then 36 years old, a taxi driver, a Barangay Tanod and the sole bre